Box Score

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. — The monkey finally got off the back of Fighting Tiger football head coach Perry Thomas today. His Tigers dominated the University of the Cumberlands Patriots, 58-12, on a sloppy Saturday afternoon at James H. Taylor II Stadium.

 

It was the first win for Thomas against Cumberlands and the first victory for any CU head coach other than the late Ron Finley, who last beat the Patriots in 2002. Fifty-eight points are the most scored by Campbellsville against Cumberlands and 46 points is the Tigers' widest margin of victory over the Patriots in 27 years.

 

"It was a great bounce-back victory for our guys," said Thomas. "That isn't the same team from last year, but Cumberlands is still a very talented team. They brought back a lot of returners this year and have lost a few games by only one score. They are a legitimate football team but we were the better team today."

 

It did not take long for Campbellsville (5-3, 2-1 MSC West) to jump on the scoreboard as Jacob Russell hit Demytreus Gipson streaking down the sideline for a 38-yard touchdown.

 

The duo hooked up once again just five minutes later down the same sideline, but this time it was a 34-yard touchdown pass, 13-0. This was the start of five-straight CU possession where the Tigers finished with points.

 

Gipson finished with a career-high 153 yards on eight catches. He is now two touchdown catches shy of tying Harold Small's (2010) and Shane Riley's (2002) record of 11 TD receptions in a season. Gipson also passed CU offensive coordinator Rick Gehres for second on the all-time reception yards list with 2,316 career yards. Stan Warrenhuffman leads the list with 2,390 career yards.

 

On the ensuing possession for Cumberlands, the Patriots went 3-and-out and forced to punt. Blake Young broke through the line and blocked Alonzo Scott's attempt. Bryson Bell scooped up the loose ball running in for the special teams score, his first TD as a Tiger.

 

Campbellsville was able to pick up another score before the first quarter ended, as AJ Strong ran in from six yards out to put CU up 27-0. Strong added a special teams score in the fourth quarter, recovering a blocked punt by Davian Evans-Dufrene for CU's final touchdown.

"Both punt blocks were huge for us," said Thomas. "The first block was able to give us a lot of momentum and jolted us out in front."

 

The route was on after that as Thomas' Fighting Tigers poured it on the struggling Patriots (1-7, 0-4 MSC East). At this time last season, Cumberlands was on its way to a NAIA Runner-up finish, beating Campbellsville 70-17, but this year's team has been a different monster.

 

"We set the tone early on both sides of the ball," said Thomas. "That was great to set and we played a complete game today. We came out hitting on all cylinders and did not let up."

 

Campbellsville stacked up a total of 563 yards with 469 coming through the air. Russell led CU throwing for 385 yards on 25-for-36 passing. Russell finished with four touchdowns, all coming in the first half, breaking Ross Deaton's single season record previously set at 20. Russell now has 21 TD's and is 103 yards shy of the single-season passing record (2,363) also set by Deaton. His 385 yards are the third most in a single-game and the most in a single-half by a CU football player.

 

In the first CU possession of the second quarter, Russell found his favorite target on the afternoon as Trevon Chatman came away with a jump ball in the end zone. Chatman finished with 115 yards on nine catches. With his total today, Chatman broke Stan Warrenhuffman's single-season record for receptions, set in 2011 at 56. Chatman now has 58 receptions on the season to lead CU.

 

Campbellsville also picked up a jump ball touchdown catch from Neil Wilson late in the first half and Will Ward added a 37-yard field goal to put the Tigers up 44-0 at the break.

 

Tajh Milliken saw action the entire second half and was able to throw for 84 yards and one touchdown. Tyrus Alcorn was on the receiving end to pick up his first TD as a Tiger. 

 

Russell and Milliken combined for a 469 passing yards, a CU single-game team record, and the Tigers also broke the single-season passing yards with now 2,964. It was previously set in 2011 with 2,742 yards. The Tigers now have 23 TD passes as a team, three shy of the program single-season record. 

 

"Our skill guys are our play-makers," said Thomas. "We get a lot of our yardage from our receiving core and those guys are very important to our success. When they do not have a good game, we struggle to get anything going on offense."

 

"If we would had left Jake in the game in the second half who knows how many yards he would have had," said Thomas. "He had a great day in just one half of play. He makes good decisions and manages the team and offense really well."

 

The Fighting Tigers defense also put their names in the record books today. Linebacker Blake Young was able to record seven tackles and is now the CU all-time tackling leader with 339 in his career, to break the mark previously set by Josh Schindler from 1998-2002. Young also holds the career records for most solo tackles (188) and blocked kicks (9). Young and Stephon Tanga each had seven tackles to lead CU.

 

"We played lights out on the defensive side," said Thomas. "Last year our aggression wasn't really there because Cumberlands was so tough to defend. But we came out today and played a complete game on the defensive end. We had one miscue and was that close pitching a shutout."

 

Campbellsville will now return to Finley Stadium and Citizens Bank Field next Saturday, Nov. 8 as the Fighting Tigers will host No. 4 Faulkner University (8-1, 4-0 MSC West). The Senior Day festivities will start approximately at 1:10 p.m. EST and kick-off is schedule for 1:30.

 

"We are ready for next week," said Thomas. "That will be a huge game for us on Senior Day and we expect a big crowd. It's been a great weekend for CU athletics as both basketball teams picked up wins over top 25 opponents and we want to continue that trend next weekend against No. 4 Faulkner."

 

You can follow the action live on The Campbellsville University Sports Network – 88.7 The Tiger.